Records: Murder-suicide suspect had multiple wives

Not only did murder-suicide suspect Julian Paris have multiple aliases, he also had multiple wives and a history of domestic violence, court records show.

The bizarre story of Paris fatally shooting his wife in front of their three children, leading deputies on a manhunt, then killing himself at their dead son's grave, was compounded Friday with the release of Orange County family court records from 2003.

The records provide a snapshot of the life Paris — who also went by the names Rick Adderly, Juliano Paris, Ricky and Mike — lived inside his 2,500-square-foot, two-story home on a quiet cul-de-sac just north of Windermere.

Among the documents was a divorce petition filed by one wife, Mary Ortiz, and a paternity petition involving Liza Nicole Adderly — the woman deputies say he killed in a Dr. Phillips neighborhood park on Wednesday.

Paris and Ortiz married in 1987 in New York City when they were both in their late 20s, the 2003 divorce petition said. Between 1988 and 1991, the couple had three children and at some point moved to Central Florida.

Everything seemed relatively fine in the marriage until their oldest child was seriously injured, the petition said.

"[Paris] abandoned [Ortiz] and the minor child not long after [their] eldest child sustained a permanent brain injury, which forced [Ortiz] to endure considerable hardships to take care of the special needs of the eldest minor child," Ortiz's attorney wrote in the petition.

The document did not specify when the child was injured or what happened to the child. The couple was separated for several years before Ortiz filed for divorce in March 2003.

In Ortiz's divorce petition, she said Paris "demonstrated little interest" in the welfare of the three children they had together and never tried to establish meaningful relationships with the kids. But still, Ortiz was willing to share custody of the children with Paris.

When he abandoned his family after one of the children was brain damaged, Paris, although financially able at the time, refused to assist with the cost of making Ortiz's home more accessible for the disabled child, Ortiz's attorney wrote.

A financial affidavit included in the divorce paperwork showed that Paris' business, Irrigation Specialists, Inc., brought in about $78,000 the previous year.

Paris lived with Adderly and their children in his four-bedroom home on Fulton Court that he purchased in June 2000 with Ortiz, before they separated. Ortiz claimed the home should be hers, documents said.

Ortiz also said accused Paris of beating her in front of the children at least once and engaging in extramarital affairs and describe their marriage as "irretrievably broken."

She and Paris, however, never followed through with the divorce "because we intend to reconcile," documents said. No other record of divorce filings between Ortiz and Paris were found.

While Paris and Ortiz were separated, in 1998, about three months after Adderly's 18th birthday, she and Paris married. Relatives say Adderly was once Paris' step-daughter from yet another previous marriage in New York.

Records of that marriage or a possible divorce could not be obtained because New York public records laws do not require the release of such materials.

Although Paris lived with Adderly until about a month before her death, he and Ortiz were apparently still married until he committed suicide Thursday, documents say.

The Paris-Adderly marriage was never valid because Paris was still legally married to Ortiz when the two wed, according to Orlando attorney Mark O'Mara, known for representing George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

"It's a void marriage," said O'Mara, who also practices family law. "Under the law it's that simple."

And that should have been clear in March 2003 when Ortiz filed for divorce, O'Mara said.

That would explain why three months later, Paris filed to establish the paternity of the children he had with Adderly during their illegitimate marriage.

O'Mara said although the couple lived together with the children in the Fulton Court home at the time, because the children were technically born out of wedlock, it was necessary for Paris, who wanted legal shared custody, to file the petition. At the time, Paris' attorney probably explained that "you're not married (to Adderly) and those kids aren't legally yours," O'Mara said. "He realized that he was still married to Ortiz and he needed to legitimize those children and establish, without question, that they were his."

The lawyer who represented Paris in both the paternity and divorce cases still practices law in Orlando but could not be reached Friday afternoon. Ortiz could not be reached either.